Minnesotans may get money back in settlements with generic drugmakers over alleged price-fixing

Minnesotans who paid too much for generic drugs made by Heritage Pharmaceuticals and Apotex could be compensated under multistate settlements announced Monday by the Attorney General’s Office.

The settlements involve patients who received prescriptions from 2010 through 2018 for a variety of medications, including various forms of metformin to manage diabetes, a diuretic called acetazolamide to treat heart disease, and a rheumatoid arthritis treatment called leflunomide. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison urged Minnesotans to email info@AGGenericDrugs.com or call 866-290-0182 if they think they might qualify.

“I am pleased that today’s settlements will return money to the people of Minnesota,” said Ellison, who accused the companies of “scheming to reduce competition, raise prices and line their pockets at your expense.”

The 50-state antitrust cases are led by the attorney general in Connecticut, where a motion was filed Monday in federal court for preliminary approval of a $10 million settlement with Heritage, a New Jersey-based subsidiary of an Indian multinational company. A $39 million settlement is pending with Apotex, a Canadian manufacturer.

Neither company is among the largest U.S. makers of generic drugs, such as Teva and Sun Pharmaceuticals. But both agreed as part of their settlements to cooperate with ongoing price-fixing lawsuits against those companies.

Brand name drugmakers have exclusive rights to produce medications in the U.S. until their patents expire, usually after 20 years, when generic manufacturers can step in and make equivalent products.

Generic drugs are often sold at a fraction of the cost, but the lawsuits accused the companies’ executives and salespeople of secretly working together to illegally reduce competition and keep generic prices elevated. The lawsuits described phone and electronic communications in which agreements were made, as well as parties and golf outings where executives allegedly agreed to “playing nice in the sandbox.”

Patients generally aren’t as familiar with the names of the companies that make their generic drugs, but can check with their pharmacies, clinics or health plans to gain that information. The settlements entitle eligible patients, and Minnesota’s government-subsidized health plans, to be reimbursed for the inflated prices of their prescriptions.

Apotex was primarily accused of agreeing to inflate prices of rheumatoid arthritis drug leflunomide.

Heritage was accused of conspiring with Sun and Ascend Laboratories to inflate prices of nimodipine, a drug that increases blood flow in patients with brain bleeds. The other drugmakers remain part of the ongoing litigation. Heritage also was accused of reaching anticompetitive agreements with other companies and then in 2014 raising prices on 10 generic drugs it manufactured.